TREATMENTS
BACTERIOPHAGES
What are they?
Bacteriophage, or simply just phages, are a type of virus that kill bacteria in a unique manner. They do this by first recognizing and landing on the bacteria. The phage then injects its DNA into the bacteria where it synthesizes. Once they are done synthesizing, the phage releases a chemical that causes the membrane of the bacteria to burst, releasing the newly- made bacteriophages.
What are their advantages?
One reason bacteriophages are advantageous over antibiotics is because they are more specific. Antibiotics kill bacteria by disrupting one of their processes. But because many bacteria share the same processes in order to survive, antibiotics kill a wider range of bacteria than originally intended. Phages on the other hand, kill a specific bacteria, making them less harmful to the microbes that are beneficial to our bodies.
Additionally, phages are more effective in killing antibiotic- resistant superbugs, because they actively destroy bacteria, rather than interrupt one of their specific processes. Often, bacteria will evolve to develop a biofilm that protects them from antibiotics, but many bacteriophages are equipped with the tools to bypass this.
What are we doing?
Phage therapy proves many challenges though in comparison to other medical treatments. For one, it is hard to prepare cleanly. Large quantities of bacteria must be grown to host phages. And once these bacteria have been killed, it is difficult to isolate the bacteriophages from the dead bacteria. If these dead bacteria were not removed from the final treatment, it could trigger a deadly immune response known as sepsis.
Despite the risks, the European Union invested in a research project called Phagoburn, which researches the use of phages to prevent skin infections in burn victims. Also, the FDA approved ListshieldTM, which is a food additive containing phages, that can kill Listeria monocytogenes.
LIGHT-ACTIVATED NANOPARTICLES
What are they?
Researchers at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the BioFrontiers institute have discovered new "quantum dots". These dots are light-activated therapeutic nanoparticles that target infected cells. These were created in light of previous research conducted on metal nanoparticles, that can be effective at treating antibiotic-resistant infections, but damage surrounding cell walls in the process.
When the nanoparticles are activated inside a cell using green visible light, they react with Oxygen molecules and water to release energized electrons. The reactive radicals move around the cell, damaging DNA, proteins, and the cell wall. But can sometimes damage healthy cells in the process.
What are their advantages?
Because of their size, being 20,000 times smaller than human hair, the semiconducters are able to only target the infection in the cellular environment. Whereas; with antibiotics, the drug often targets not only foreign cells, but the body's natural population of microbes as well.
Quantum dots can also be tailored to particular infections because of their light-activated properties. In the absence of light, the nanoparticles will remain inactive. But when they are exposed to the correct light frequency, they will activate on command. This allows researchers to modify wavelengths to kill the infected cells more efficiently.
In addition to this, superbugs can be counted on to evolve to the treatment. So in response to this, the dots can be quickly modified to come up with a new therapy. Because superbugs have already come up with techniques to fight off antibiotics, it is much more difficult to create new drugs that maneuver around these.
What are we doing?
Because the nanoparticles have a tendency to damage more cells than originally intended Prof. Prashant Nagpal of University of Colorado is trying to solve this problem by reducing the amount of dots used and combining this with the use of antibiotic drugs. This reduced the harm done on the body by allowing the quantum dots to weaken the cells enough, that the antibiotics could go in and kill them.
The researchers at University of Colorado are also designing quantum dots that can be activated using near-infrared light, that can penetrate deeper into the skin. They are also trying to use nanoparticles without heavy metals, or with substances that are already FDA approved, to speed up the clinical trial process.
SUPERBUGS
Stopping the Drug-resistance Epidemic
